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2017-11-29 09:32:53

WHR

Whirlpool

09:32

11/29/17

11/29

09:32

11/29/17

09:32

Whirlpool completes expansion of manufacturing facility in Argentina

Whirlpool Corporation announced the completion of its manufacturing facility expansion in La Tablada city, located in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. The development is part of a more than $20M dollar investment plan, which began last year when the facility started manufacturing ranges. The facility will now also manufacture front load washing machines with Sense Inverter technology. This investment will result in the addition of approximately one hundred new and three hundred indirect jobs. This facility represents the completion of a two-year project to allow the company to bring its global platform and new innovation to this important market, and to customize those innovations to meet the needs of consumers in this region.

Catch up on today's top five analyst downgrades with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. General Electric (GE) was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel and to Underperform from Perform at Oppenheimer. 2. Whirlpool (WHR) was downgraded to Sector Perform from Top Pick at RBC Capital and to Neutral from Buy at BofA/Merrill. 3. Roche (RHHBY) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Berenberg with analyst Alistair Campbell saying he sees the company's earnings growth slowing to the slow single digits over the next five years as biosimilar competition ramps. 4. United Continental (UAL) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Atlantic Equities with the firm's analyst saying earnings initiatives do not appear to be performing to plan and he is "very skeptical" of United's ability to close the margin gap with Delta (DAL). 5. Hanesbrands (HBI) downgraded to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer with analyst Anna Andreeva saying while she remains a fan of "Brands over Retailers" framework, and Hanesbrands has profitability cushions, negative organics domestically take away earnings upside bull case. This list is just a portion of The Fly's full analyst coverage. To see The Fly's full Street Research coverage, click here.

10/24/17

LOOP

10/24/17NO CHANGETarget $72LOOPBuy

Whirlpool leaving Sears positive for Best Buy, says Loop Capital

Loop Capital analyst Anthony Chukumba views Whirlpool (WHR) no longer offering appliances in Sears (SHLD) stores or online as "another incremental positive" for Best Buy (BBY). While picking up Whirlpool sales will have a "relatively insignificant impact" on Best Buy's annual earnings, Sears can no longer claim it carries all of the major U.S. appliance brands, which should accelerate its market share losses, Chukumba tells investors in a research note. He thinks Sears is "inching closer and closer" to a bankruptcy and reiterates a Buy rating on Best Buy with a $72 price target. The stock in morning trading is up 87c to $56.89.

11/15/17

JPMS

11/15/17NO CHANGEJPMSOverweight

Whirlpool view of N.A. industry growth a bit aggresive, says JPMorgan

JPMorgan analyst Michael Rehaut noted that U.S. "AHAM 6" appliance industry shipments fell 1.3% year-over-year in October, which he views as a modest negative for Whirlpool. Pointing to even more difficult comps in the November-December period, Rehaut added that he continues to view Whirlpool's outlook of 4-6% North American industry shipment growth in 2017 as "slightly aggressive." However, he thinks this view is largely shared by investors and reflected in the stock. He maintains an Overweight rating on Whirlpool shares.

Snap Inc. (SNAP) is banning ads of initial coin offerings in its Snapchat app, Cheddar reports, citing a company spokesperson. The decision makes Snapchat the latest social media platform to prohibit advertisements for cryptocurrency ICOs, the report says. In contrast to Facebook (FB) and Google (GOOG), however, Snap's current block of ICOs has been in effect since early February and does not apply to different kinds of cryptocurrency ads, the report says. Reference Link

Airbus (EADSY) is mulling making a freighter version of its slow-selling A330neo widebody, spurred by requests from potential customers Amazon (AMZN) and UPS (UPS), Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the matter. The interest from Amazon and UPS could incite a competition between Airbus and rival Boeing (BA) as the worldwide air-cargo market rebounds from a slump, the report notes.

Facebook's chief information security officer, Alex Stamos, will leave the company after internal disagreements over how the social network should deal with its role in spreading disinformation, The New York Times reports, citing current and former employees briefed on the matter. Reference Link

Amazon has considered the possibility of expanding its retail footprint by acquiring some stores from bankrupt Toys 'R' Us, Bloomberg reports, citing people with knowledge of the situation. The e-commerce giant is not interested in maintaining the Toys 'R' Us brand, but has mulled using the soon-to-be-vacant stores for its own purposes, the report says. Reference Link

President Trump is readying to place a package of $60B in annual tariffs against China, following through on a long-time threat that he claims will punish China for IP infringement and create more jobs in the U.S., the Washington Post reports. The tariff package, which the president intends to unveil by the end of the week, was confirmed by four senior administration officials, the report notes. Senior aides has presented Trump with a $30B tariff package that would apply to a variety of products, but the president directed them to approximately double the amount of new trade levies, the report says. The package could be applied to over 100 products, which the president contends were made by using trade secrets that the Chinese stole from U.S. companies or forced them to hand over in exchange for market aces, the report says. Reference Link